A special meeting of the North Little Rock City Council will be at 6 p.m. next Monday to decide on a realignment of a proposed street off Crystal Hill Road, and a public hearing on simplifying requirements for food-truck vendors is set for two weeks away, aldermen agreed Monday.
Before Monday evening's City Council meeting, Mayor Joe Smith brought all sides of the street issue together to discuss whether the proposed road in and out of NorthShore Business Park off Crystal Hill Road will turn south or continue east. A public hearing on a related special improvement district was also postponed as a result.
Having the road continue eastward toward NorthShore Lane is on the city's the current Master Street Plan. The proposed change would go through a planned apartment complex to Young Road.
"The mayor got us all in a room, and we've put it off till a week from tonight," said Gene Pfeifer, developer of the business park who wants the original alignment to stay. "He wants to let the engineers from both parties try to work out an amicable agreement."
Smith said the meeting was to give everybody "one last shot" before the council would vote. The apartments by Lindsey Management Co. would be built on 18.85 acres that Lindsey is under contract to buy from the city.
"We're almost there at an agreement where everybody will be happy and have the best route in and out of the business park," Smith said. "I challenged Mr. Pfeifer's engineers and the Lindsey engineers to attempt to make this work."
Easing the requirements for food-truck vendors to operate in North Little Rock also met with reluctance for any action. Aldermen held a brief discussion on amending regulations approved last year, then scheduled a public hearing to have more input at the next regular City Council meeting April 27.
The proposal to "clarify and simplify" rules takes away many steps in the application and approval process that have been met with complaints of being burdensome to vendors. The changes would allow for an annual permit instead of permits being issued per event. The legislation, however, leaves in requirements to limit food-truck operations to city-approved special events on public property.
Jeremy Rhodes told aldermen that a large event in the Park Hill neighborhood last fall drew three food trucks "after jumping through hoops" to qualify, while three others opted out.
"Every one sold out," said Rhodes, who is married to city Fit 2 Live coordinator Bernadette Rhodes. "We don't want too many hoops that other cities don't require and have them [vendors] continue to skip over us. I'd love to see this approved tonight as is, but have it where we can have events on private property."
Smith said that he wants to be protective of "brick and mortar restaurants" that could have competition from food trucks' presence and that he is "not prepared to take that step quickly." He asked aldermen to "do your homework" on the subject so there can be a decision at the April 27 meeting.
Metro on 04/14/2015